Prioritizing Multiple Uses on Public Lands after Bear Lodge

This Article analyzes the courts' application of First Amend-ment jurisprudence to Native American cultural activities on federal land. The author concludes that the courts' use of existing First Amendment law has been strained, especially with respect to Native American cultural practices on federal land. The Article analyzes Bear Lodge Multiple Use Association v. Babbitt within this context to conclude that First Amendment jurisprudence may not be the most appropriate legal construct for determining whether to allow or protect Native American cultural activities on federal land. Instead, the Article suggests that Native American practices are often best considered cultural, rather than religious, and as such, a First Amendment analysis, which has not been particularly favorable to Native American interests, would not apply. Applying a cultural lens to Native American practices, the Article concludes that federal land managers act well within their prescribed authority when they protect such activities